Lessons from the B-School Launch

The biggest and most talked about online launch has been for Marie Forleo’s B-School. Tell me you have heard of it.. It’s an online training program that only happens once per year. Did you enroll? Are you a “B-School babe”?

I have never seen the amount of promotion and extreme feedback (both positive and negative) on a launch before. No matter what side of the fence you may be on, there are many good lessons that we can learn from this year’s B-School launch. Let’s have a look together…

1. Uplevel your image and professionalism.

Marie keeps improving the look and feel of her website and promotions. She has obviously invested in this area of her business. I am sure that she has examined what worked and did not and made changes accordingly. Also, her copywriting is very good…So good that people feel like she’s speaking right to them. She also draws them in with inspiration and hope, and consequently they consider signing up. The biggest lesson for me is that it needs to be great – not just good. The design, the style, the copywriting – it’s of great importance, especially when selling your product or service at a premium price.

2. Design isn’t everything.

I want to let you in on something I share with my clients. Ready? Even though design is important, some of the most successful launches I have worked on didn’t have the fanciest or highest priced launch pages, yet they were very effective. One thing they had in common was they had solid social proof. Social proof is a way to persuade people to take action due to group/peer influence. Often this can be accomplished through written or video testimonials on your sales page.

And let me tell you, it’s powerful when done right! A weak testimonial such as, “I love this program” is meaningless. Your testimonials must show that others trust you, they tell a story, and sound natural (no jargon please). It’s the stories that Marie Forleo uses that are so powerful. Plus, she uses high quality pictures of these people which makes them that much more credible. You can likely read through them and find someone who you can relate to, connect with, and believe. And chances are she has a testimonial from someone you already know or admire (like one of her affiliates), so their words may be quite influential.

3. You need to have good content to back up your marketing.

People start to get annoyed, feel uncomfortable, or even have buyer’s remorse if your big promises for transformation don’t seem to be achievable through your program’s content. If you are promising the moon and charging a premium price, your content needs to be able to deliver. The harsh truth is there likely isn’t any one program that’s going to change your business into a 7-figure business, like Marie’s, in just a couple of months. You may want what she has, but that transformation is going to take time and a lot of effort.

Inside B-School, the majority of the instruction doesn’t look like the videos you may have seen as part of her pre-launch series or on Marie TV. That’s okay – It doesn’t have to look flashy on the inside, but it does need to be effective.

If you do the work, will you get the promised results? One complaint I’ve read repeatedly about B-School is that there are other factors outside of B-School leading to the success. So true; it’s you! Marie wisely has a disclaimer that includes: You alone are responsible for your actions and results in life and business which are dependent on personal factors including your skill, knowledge, ability, dedication, business savvy, network and financial situation, to name a few.

You can’t make people work through your program, but if they in fact put in the effort, your content must deliver the results you’ve promised.

4. Affiliates – expanding your reach.

One of the biggest reasons people have taken issue with this launch is the sheer number of people promoting it. I received back to back emails the day the cart opened… even from people I didn’t expect to be promoting the program. The online world is so connected so you are bound to be on several B-School affiliates’ lists.

Having affiliates is such an effective way of growing your audience, expanding your reach and increasing sales. What are affiliates? An affiliate is someone who is promoting someone else’s products or services. They are using a specially coded link (an affiliate link) that tracks. If someone uses the affiliate link to buy the program or service, then the affiliate earns commission. It’s easy to see how there’s incentive to promote the program.

There’s obviously risk associated with having affiliates as well. They can burn their audience (and yours) by promoting too heavily and hurt your reputation and brand. So what’s the answer? I feel it comes down to the quality of the affiliates you have. Their authority, their marketing style, their influence, their list of email subscribers. How well do they match you, your marketing, your brand, and your program?

I worked on a campaign for this year’s B-School with an affiliate and we treated it as if it was a launch for her own offering – with mapping out emails, images, social media, free call. Her audience is brand new to online business, so they are a really good match and her bonuses complimented the program really well. My client has had great success as a result of B-School but it’s not the end all and be all. You are always learning and growing and evolving in your marketing (and your business).

Whether you love Marie or the launch this year left a sour taste in your mouth, take note of the lessons you can learn from this year’s biggest launch online. What will you take and apply in your own launches? Let me know in the comments below!